Damper arrangement for room air conditioner



Feb. 14, 1961 c. R. HUCKLEBERRY 2,971,449

DAMPER ARRANGEMENT FOR ROOM AIR CONDITIONER Filed April 10. 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 R O T N E V m Feb. 14, 1961 c. R HUCKLEBERRY 2,971,449

DAMPER ARRANGEMENT FOR ROOM AIR CONDITIONER Filed April 10, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M ld ATTORNEY DAMPER ARRANGEMENT FOR ROOM AIR CONDITIONER Charles R. Huckleberry, Clarksville, Ind., assignor to American Radiator & Standard Sanitary Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 727,719

8 Claims. (Cl. 98-38) This invention relates to room air conditioners and, more particularly, to improved damper means for varying the relative volume of recirculating and outside air.

An important object of the subject invention is to provide in a room air conditioner an improved simple and reliable damper means for progressive regulation of air source from 100% recirculating air and outside air to 0% recirculating air and 100% outside air operable from a single control means. i

A further object is to provide an air conditioner as described above in which the damper'means is readily adaptable to operation from direct, remote and automatic controls.

Another object is to-provide,'in an air conditioner adapted to receive both room air and outside air, an improved damper means providing positive opening and closing of the outside air damper element.

Another further object is to provide in a room air conditioner a novel damper arrangement preventing blow-through from the outside inlet to the room circulating inlet when the dampers are set in an intermediat position to admit both outside and room air.

These and other objects willbecome more apparent from the following description and drawings in which like reference characters denote like parts throughout the several views. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for purposes of illustration only and not a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view partially broken away showing by way of example an air conditioner unit incorporating my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing my improved damper mechanism in 100% recirculation, or room air position;

Figs. 3 to 5 are enlarged sections showing end views of a base portion of the unit wherein the damper mechanism is shown in the three respective positions of 100% room air, intermediate, and 100% outside air.

Referring to the drawings, in Fig. 1 is shown a unit air conditioner having the usual casing 11, air filter 12, motor driven blower means 13, heating and cooling coil 14 and a discharge passage 15 for passing conditioned air to a room indicated at 16.

Referring to Fig. 3, a base portion of the casing 11 is provided with an inlet passage 17 for receiving room air and an inlet passage 13 for receiving outside air. Passage 18 is sealed as at 19 to an opening in the side of a building (not shown) and air from both passages 17 and 18 is drawn through filter 12 upwardly through the air conditioning unit by fans 13 to pass over the coil 14 and discharge through outlet 15 to room 16.

In accordance with my invention to control the admission of room and outside air from 100% room and 0% outside to 100% outside and 0% room air, I provide cooperative dampers 20 and 21. Damper 20 is troughshaped and fixed at its apex to a rod 22. Rod 22 is casing 11.

2,971,449 Patented Feb. 14, 1951 parallel to the oppositely disposed openings 17 and 18 and supported for rotation in casing 11 on bearings 23-24 as seen in Fig. 2. The damper 20 runs the full length of the openings 17 and 18 and presents one wall 25 pivotal on the axis of rod 22 to open and close the room or recirculating inlet 17. The other pivotal check wall 26 of damper 20 acts upon the damper 21 to open or close the latter, damper 21 being pivoted along its lower edge on a rod 27 whose axis is parallel to that of rod 22. Edge 28 of wall 25 is bent upward at right angles as seen in Fig. 5 to seal against the bottom of Normally, damper 21 will swing inwardly under the influence of suction from fan 13 when the wall 26 is swung out of its path. However, to assure positive opening of damper 21, I provide an arm 29 fixed thereto and angularly bent as shown to be engaged by an edge 30 of wall 26 bent at right angles to the wall 26 as shown in Figs. 3-5. A cushion of felt 31 or other suitable material is fixed to the upper side of wall 26 as shown in Fig. 5 to be engaged by the face edge 32 of damper 21. Edge 32 is bent at right angles to the surface of damper 21 to slide on the felt 31. The rod 22 to which damper 20 is fixed is rotated clockwise and counterclockwise by a Bowden wire 33 (Fig. 1) fixed at one end to an arm 34 fixed to the rod 22 and at the other end to an arm 35 pivoted at 36 on a support 37. Arm 35 may be operated manually as shown'or may easily be adapted to automatic or remote control.

Operation When room recirculated air is desired, the arm 35 (Fig. l) is rotated to rotate shaft 22 and damper 20 to the position shown in Fig. 3, allowing air to follow the path indicated by the arrows shown in Fig. 3. It will be noted that damper 21 is not only closed by arm 26 of damper 20, but is locked closed along its complete length. That is, looking at Fig. 2, it will be seen that arm 26 engages damper 21 along the full length of both thereby assuring a tight closing and locking of damper 21 against outside air.

When a mixture of air is desired (partly room air and and admit outside air indicated by the arrow. Should the damper 21 tend to stick, arm 26 will engage arm 29 to positively open damper 21. Thus, provision is made for positively opening and positively closing and locking damper 21. Also, it should be noted that in the intermediate positions of damper 20, as well as in its extreme positions, no draft of cold air from outside to room is possible. That is, dampers 2t and 21 in all their posi tions block off communication from outside passage 18 directly to room passage 17. The air must follow the normal path through the filter 12 and casing 11 before entering the room 16. This avoids cold blow-back drafts.

When 100% outside air is desired, arm 35 is rotated clockwise to rotate damper 211 to the position shown in Fig. 5. Outside air then follows the path indicated by the arrows and inlet passage 17 is completely sealed. Rotation of arm 35 in the reverse direction reverses the movements described above.

It is believed apparent from the above that I have provided an air conditioning unit having a simple, rugged mechanism of damper control adjustable in infinitestimal steps for variation of the mixture of room and outside air. It is to be noted also that the simple arrangement provides the advantages of positive action in opening and closing the damper elements, full length lock in of the outside air damper, and elimination of blow-back for all settings of the damper controls.

While I have illustrated and described but one embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent that additions to and omissions from the structural features illustrated may be made and that changes in shape, position and relationship of some of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a room air conditioner having a casing with oppositely disposed inlet passageways and a common discharge passageway, improved damper means comprising a first damper pivoted on an axis along one edge thereof to open and close one of said inlet passageways, means for pivoting said damper toward open position, a second damper having two integral walls pivoted on a common axis, one of said walls being positioned to swing in an arc to slidably engage said first damper to swing said first damper toward closed position as well as to present therewith a barrier between said two inlet passageways, the other of said walls being swingable in the same direction in unison with said one wall and positioned in said other inlet passageway to decrease communication between said other inlet passageway and said discharge passageway when said first damper is pivoted toward open position and to increase said communication when said first damper is pivoted toward closed position.

2. In a room air conditioner ha"ing oppositely disposed means forming air inlets one for recirculating room air and the other for outside air, a common passageway in communication with said inlets, a filter disposed in said common passageway adjacent said inlets, and fan means drawing air through said filter and common passageway from said inlets, the improvement comprising damper means regulating the relative volume of air admitted from said respective inlets to said passageway including, an outside damper having a wall portion pivotal along one edge thereof to open and close said outside air inlet, a trough-shaped damper pivoted at its apex on an axis positioned for reversibly swinging one side of said trough in an arc to increase and decrease the passageway of recirculating room air from said room air inlet to said common passage while swinging the other side of said trough in unison with said one side and in slidable engagement with said outside damper to coordinate the progressive opening and closing of said other inlet respectively with the decrease and increase of the passage of room air to said common passageway while at the same time blocking communication between said inlet passageways, and means connected to said troughshaped damper to rotate and position the same.

3. A room air conditioner having a base casing formed with oppositely disposed inlet passageways, one for recirculating room air and the other for admitting outside air, a common discharge casing, fan means drawing air through said inlet passageways to said discharge casing, damper means for progressively proportioning between 100% recirculated and outside air to 0% recirculated and 100% outside air while acting to prevent blowthrough between said inlet passageways, said damper means comprising a first damper having a single wall pivoted adjacent said outside inlet passageway to open and close said passageway and biased by said fan-drawn air towardopen position, a second trough-shaped damper, means for pivoting said second damper about an axis through its apex, said second damper having one wall for permitting and prohibiting the recirculation of room air in progressive degree as said damper is pivoted and another integral wall having a free edge slidably engageable with said single wall to act with said single wall as a barrier to blow-through between said inlet passageways, said other wall by its slidable engagement with said single wall acting asa check means limiting the opening of said single wall in relation to the position of said second damper and coordinating in inverse relation the swinging of said other and single walls toward open and closed positions.

4. A room air conditioner having a base housing formed with oppositely disposed means forming inlets, one for recirculating air and the other for outside air, a main housing communicating with said inlets, fan means drawing air from said inlets through said housing, damper means controlling the relative flow of circulating and outside air through said main housing, said damper means comprising a first damper having a single wall reversibly pivoted on an axis along one edge thereof adjacent said outside inlet to open and close said inlet, said first damper being responsive to the fan drawn air to opensaid inlet, a second trough-shaped damper pivoted on the axis of its apex, parallel to said first mentioned axis, said second damper having on one side of its apex a first integral wall adjacent said one inlet and reversibly pivoted to increase and decrease the flow of recirculating air through said housings and on the other side a second'wall having a free edge slidably engageable with said single wall to check the opening of said single wall corresponding to the pivotal position of said second damper and coordinating the operation of said single and first walls progressively and respectively from recirculating air and 0% outside air to 0% recirculating air and 100% outside air, said second damper holding said first damper locked closed in the position of said first wall admitting 100% recirculating air, said axes being spaced to present therebetween portions of said second and single walls to prevent blow-through from said outside air inlet to said re circulating air inlet in the intermediate positions of said dampers, and means for operating said second damper.

5. In a room air conditioner having a casing with a passageway for discharging air into a room and additional separate passageways for drawing fresh air from outside and recirculating air from the room together with means eifecting said air flow in said passageways, improved damper means for adjustably controlling in infinite steps the relative volumes of fresh and recirculating air taken in while at the same time maintaining for all adjusted positions of said damper means a barrier to the flow of fresh air directly from said fresh air passageway to said recirculating passageway comprising a first damper pivoted on an axis to swing toward open and closed positions in said fresh air passageway and biased toward open position by said air flow, a second trough-shaped damper pivoted on an axis through its apex and parallel to said first axis, an edge of one side of said second damper being slidably engageable with said first damper throughout the length of the latter to pivot said first damper toward and lock it in closed position, as well as to coordinate the pivotal movements of said two dampers, the other side of said second damper being positioned to progressively admit a greater air flow through said recirculat' ing passageway as said outside passageway is progressively closed by said first damper and vice-versa.

6. In a room 'air conditioner having a casing with a passageway for discharging air into a room and additional separate passageways for admitting respectively fresh air from outside and recirculating air from the room together with air moving means operating to draw air through said passageways and discharge air into the room, improved damper means for adjustably controlling in infinite steps the relative volumes of fresh and recirculating air admitted comprising a first damper pivotal in said fresh air passageway to control the flow of fresh air admitted, said damper being pivoted on an eccentric axis to be biased toward open position by the drawing effect of said air moving means and having a free end swingable to engage said casing to close said fresh air passageway, a second pivotal damper positioned in said recirculating air passageway to vary the volume of recirculation air admitted to said discharge passageway, means for adjusting the pivotal position of said second damper, a portion of said second damper projecting in the direction of said first damper to engage and slide along an adjacent surface of said first damper toward said free end thereof to actuate said first damper toward closed position as said second damper is pivoted toward open position and to lock said first damper in closed position, said second damper by its slidable engagement with said first damper also acting as a check means coordinating the relative pivotal positions of both said dampers.

7. In a room air conditioner having a casing with a passageway for discharging air into a room and additional separate passageways for admitting respectively fresh air from outside and recirculating air from the room together with air moving means operating to draw air through said passageways and discharge air into the room, improved damper means for adjustably controlling in infinite steps the relative volumes of fresh and recirculating air admitted comprising a first damper pivotal in said fresh air passageway to control the flow of fresh air admitted, said damper being biased toward open position by the drawing effect of said air moving means and having a free end swingable to engage said casing to close said fresh air passageway, a second pivotal damper positioned in said recirculating air passageway to vary the volume of recirculation air admitted to said discharge passageway, means for adjusting the pivotal position of said damper, a portion of said second damper projecting in the direction of said first damper to engage and slide along an adjacent surface of said first damper toward said free end thereof to actuate said first damper toward closed position as said second damper is pivoted toward open position and to lock said first damper in closed position, said second damper by its slidable engagement with said first damper also acting as a check means coordinating the relative pivotal positions of both said dampers, and an arm projecting from said first damper for engagement by said portion of said second damper to assure positive opening of said first damper in the event that the bias force on said first damper is not sufficient to pivot said first damper toward open position.

8. In a room air conditioner having a casing with a passageway for discharging air into a room and additional separate passageways for admitting respectively fresh air from outside and recirculating air from the room together with air moving means operating to draw air through said passageways and discharge air into the room, improved damper means for adjustably controlling in infinite steps the relative volumes of fresh and recirculating air admitted while maintaining for all adjusted positions of said damper means a barrier to the flow of air between the additional passageways comprising a first damper pivotal in said fresh air passageway to control the flow of fresh air admitted, said damper being biased toward open position by the drawing effect of said air moving means, a second pivotal damper positioned in said recirculating air passageway to vary the volume of recirculation air admitted to said discharge passageway, means for adjusting the pivotal position of said second damper, a portion of said second damper projecting in the direction of said first damper to slidably engage and actuate said first damper toward closed position as said second damper is pivoted toward open position, said second damper by its slidable engagement with said first damper also acting as a check means coordinating the relative pivotal positions of both said dampers, said second damper being so constructed and arranged to present with said first damper during slidable engagement therebetween continuous wall surfaces preventing the flow of air between said additional passageways for all positions of said first and second dampers.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Nesbitt May 18, 1926 1,777,848 Harnett Oct. 7, 1930 2,327,664 Otis Aug. 24, 1943 2,854,916 Knutson et al. Oct. 7, 1958 2,855,839 Teigen Oct. 14, 1958 2,880,752 Kreuttner Apr. 7, 1959 

